Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, 1853 - Harvard Model United Nations

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, 

1853 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Introduction5 

History and Discussion of the Issue 5 

Current Situation 20 

Bloc Positions 24 

Proposed Solutions 24 

Suggestions for Further Research 25 

Position Paper Guidelines 25 

Closing Remarks 26 

Bibliography28 

 

Specialized Agencies 


1

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, 1853 

Harvard Model United Nations 2012 

A Letter from the Secretary-General 

Dear Delegates, 

Hunter M. Richard 

Secretary-General 

Stephanie N. Oviedo 

Director-General 

Ana Choi 

Under-Secretary-General 

Administration 

Ainsley Faux 


Business 

Alexandra M. Harsacky 

Comptroller 

Sofia Hou 


Innovation and Technology 

Juliana Cherston 


General Assembly 

S. Ethan Lyle 


Economic and Social Council 

Charlene S. Wong 



I could not be more honored to welcome you to the fifty-ninth session of Harvard Model 

United Nations. Our entire staff of 205 Harvard undergraduates is eager to join with you 

this January at the Sheraton Boston for an exciting weekend of debate, diplomacy, and 

cultural exchange. You and your 3,000 fellow delegates join a long legacy of individuals 

passionate about international affairs and about the pressing issues confronting our World. 

Founded in 1927 as Harvard Model League of Nations, our organization has evolved 

into one of America’s oldest, largest, and most international United Nations simulations. 

Drawing from this rich history, Harvard Model United Nations has strived to emphasize 

and promote the unique impact of the UN and its mandates in the eradication of humanity’s 

greatest problems. Despite its difficulties and often-unfortunate image in the press, the 

United Nations is truly a global body with representation of 193-member states and is the 

closest the World has ever achieved to a “Parliament of Man.” 

At HMUN, we strive to recreate this body and the international environment it fosters 

through our emphasis on welcoming more and more international delegations to our 

conference each year. For the fifty-ninth session, HMUN is proud to welcome delegations 

from over 35 countries to share their experiences with others from across the World. Not 

only can you debate global issues in committee, but also discuss the China-US relations with 

a delegate hailing from Shanghai or EU economic policy with a delegate from Germany. I 

encourage you to go above and beyond research and discussions within your committee to 

learn from your fellow delegates. 

In this guide, you are about to embark on a valuable intellectual endeavor. Your committee 

director has worked tirelessly to research and compile this extensive background guide. 

Please use it as a foundation in your own research for committee and to contribute to 

your debates and final resolutions. I wish you the best of luck in your preparation and in 

committee this January. 

Sincerely, 

59 Shepard Street, Box 205 

Cambridge, MA 02138 

Voice: (617)-398-0772 

Fax: (617) 588-0285 

Email: info@harvardmun.org 

www.harvardmun.org 




secgen@harvardmun.org 

22 Specialized Agencies








Ana Choi 



Ainsley Faux 


Business 


Comptroller 

Sofia Hou 






S. Ethan Lyle 






Welcome to the Specialized Agencies! It is my deepest pleasure to welcome you to this elite 

organ. The SA is uniquely structured to maximize delegate experience. The average SA 

committee size is 16 delegates; as such, there are abundant opportunities for every attendee 

to participate. With the largest staff of any organ, and yet the fewest number of delegates, 

extraordinary attention from the dais is guaranteed. By the numbers, you should expect the 

highest quality, most innovative, and most exciting committees that Harvard Model United 

Nations can offer. 

But numbers aren’t everything, and the SA is far more than a collection of statistics. The 

competition to staff the SA is intense; as a result, your committee’s directors and junior staff 

are at the top of their game. Since April 2011, your dais has spent untold hours preparing 

every facet of committee so that your simulation is as realistic as possible. Having already 

seen their epic and incredible background guides, I can tell you that each of them has 

poured his or her soul into making your committee experience unmatched anywhere. 

Needless to say, HMUN would not be complete without you, the delegates. The HMUN 

SA has long been the ultimate test of mettle on the high school circuit, and the mere chance 

to compete on your committees is the dream of many a delegate. Success on the SA will 

not come easily; equal measures of preparation, enthusiasm, and creativity will be critical. 

Victory will not come without sacrifice. Of course, I have no doubt that each of you will 

rise to the challenge. 

As a Model UN delegate in high school, I have been in your position as an SA delegate 

many times. Never before have I seen such a slate of original committees, with endless 

potential for creativity. I hope you are as excited as I am to change the world forever – or at 

least for four days. Best wishes, and I look forward to meeting you this January! 

Sincerely, 


Under-Secretary-General for the Specialized Agencies 


sa@harvardmun.org 



Voice: (617)-398-0772 

Fax: (617) 588-0285 




3








Ana Choi 



Ainsley Faux 


Business 


Comptroller 

Sofia Hou 






S. Ethan Lyle 






Hello, and welcome to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, 1853. I’m really excited for our 

committee: we’ve selected you out of an impressive applicant pool to create the perfect 

committee to explore this very volatile era of Chinese history. As you might know (and as 

you will certainly know after reading this study guide), the Taiping Rebellion had the power 

to change the entire course of China’s future. By rewinding the trajectory of what has now 

become one of the modern superpowers, we can pause at this vital crossroads and put our 

creativity to the test, extrapolating what might have been. 

But enough about history, we’ll talk about that plenty in the committee room. In the present, 

I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you over the course of the weekend. While 

not pretending to be a hallucinating Chinese emperor (which happens more often than 

you’d guess), I’m really interested in indie music and art. I play a couple of instruments; I’ve 

been in a few bands. I also love to run along the beautiful (if freezing) Charles River here in 

Boston when I wake up early enough. I’m from a small town in a small state (Delaware), but 

I’m much happier here in the city. In school, I study engineering, but don’t worry: I don’t 

spend all of my time in a lab. As you can probably guess, I’m really interested in history, 

religion, and art, and especially in East Asian culture (I’m probably going to minor in East 

Asian studies if all goes well). 

So what am I hoping for at HMUN this year? First of all, as a fellow delegate, if you 

take anything away from this committee, I hope you take away a lot new friendships and 

perspectives, because these are the things that will stay with you the longest. Secondly, as 

your director, I’m excited for the discussions and mayhem that will arise in our committee. 

Please don’t be afraid to stand up for what you (and by you, I mean the historical you) 

believe in. Our committee is a collection of ambitious, hardened warriors and religious 

visionaries: I expect both (respectful) conflict and conflict resolution. Thirdly, I hope that 

you learn something from this committee: my fellow staff and I have put a lot of work into 

providing historical references for you, and the more everyone prepares before conference, 

the more exciting and productive our committee sessions will be. Lastly, let’s have fun! Hit 

me up outside the committee room, and I better see you all at the delegate dance. 

Welcome to the Specialized Agencies and to the Heavenly Council. 

Sincerely, 



Voice: (617)-398-0772 

Fax: (617) 588-0285 



Kyle Rawding 

Director, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, 1853 

taiping@harvardmun.org 


INTRODUCTION 

The topics that will be examined by this committee 

are twofold. Firstly, as a council of generals, we will be 

chiefly concerned with the advancement of the Taiping 

Rebellion. This pursuit includes several facets: efficient 

management of resources and manpower, military 

strategizing and long-term planning, and relations with 

both the opposing forces of the Qing and the wildcard 

forces of the Western powers. Will we attempt to secure 

the foreigners’ blessing or will we attempt to drive them 

out as well? Remember that this is a young rebellion, 

fought and led by farmers and miners (who have only 

just set down their plows and picks) against a trained 

imperial army. But also keep in mind the power of 

popular support and the fire of injustice that burns deep 

in the souls of the downtrodden. 

Secondly, it is the duty of this council to carry out its 

religious quest to create a heaven on earth, from improving 

living conditions for all through collectivization of land 

and resources, to instituting moral reforms, to spreading 

the message of the One True God among the unconverted. 

The lengthy rule of the Qing overlords has inflicted 

sweeping changes to traditional Chinese culture (for 

example, the mandated queue hairstyle for men or the 

promotion of foot-binding among women). The battle 

to overthrow Qing influence is just as vital in the home as 

on the battlefield, and the reforms passed by this council 

can go a long way towards translating military rebellion 

into cultural rebellion. Caught up in the politics of the 

uprising are the issues of religion and education as well, 

two fields long monopolized by popular animist beliefs 

and government-sponsored Confucianism. As the earthly 

soldiers of the One True God, it is up to the Taiping to 

stomp out both of these heresies, from local shrines all 

the way up to the government’s bureaucratic exams. 

In short, I charge this committee with the task 

of furthering the Taiping aim of stamping out Qing 

influence on both the macroscopic and individual levels. 

HISTORY AND DISCUSSION OF THE 

ISSUE 

This background guide will first examine the main 

aspects and the trajectory of the rebellion itself: prerebellion 

conditions, causes of the rebellion, a detailed 

chronology of the rebellion, and an overview of the 

current situation. The second half will then explore 

the inner workings of the rebellion and its leaders: the 



history of internal reforms, and life within the Heavenly 

Kingdom. 

Pre-Rebellion Conditions and Causes 

Before examining the course of the rebellion, it will be 

useful to understand the rebels’ context and background 

by first studying the people themselves, then expanding 

outwards to include sweeping trends across China, and 

finally exploring China’s interaction with the rest of the 

world. 

Traditions and Values of China 

CONFUCIANISM 

Before the coming of the Taiping, the backbone 

of intellectualism and everyday morality in China has 

been the set of traditional Confucian ideals handed 

down generation after generation, one of the few things 

binding together the diverse and enormous population 

of nineteenth-century China. Throughout the centuries, 

Confucianism has become infused into nearly every aspect 

of learning and knowledge: the highly competitive civil 

service examinations were based on close memorization 

and analysis of a wide collection of Confucian texts, 

schoolrooms were decorated with tablets bearing the 

sage’s instructions, and even children learning to read 

for the first time used the “Three Character Classic” 

(simplified Confucian doctrine written in triplets of 

common characters). 1 

VILLAGE LIFE AND POPULAR RELIGION 

Built on the Confucian ideal of filial piety, the nuclear 

family is the main unit of social structure for the Chinese 

people. Extended family ties provide an additional 

support network, but one that is often tenuous at best. 

Nor do villages provide much more social structure; with 

so many peasants living at or below the poverty line, efforts 

to promote the “greater good” are a luxury not many can 

spare afford. As described in Teng’s survey of Taipingera 

China, villages are “more a residential agglomeration 

of peasant households than a functioning community”. 2 

Due to imperial inefficiency and corruption amongst local 

officials, the powers of government and law-enforcement 

often fall to the wealthiest family in the vicinity: wealth 

can buy tutors for the civil service exams (and often can 

even buy the government positions outright), and with 

government posts comes further wealth. 3 However, even 

such disjointed villages are brought together by their 

search for higher powers to ease their plight. Because 

5


Confucianism is a philosophy and not a religion, the 

more spiritual needs of the people have been satisfied by 

an enormous pantheon of both national and local deities 

governing every aspect of life. In order to pay proper 

homage to these many gods, myriad shrines and temples 

dot the Chinese countryside, and dozens of festivals, 

parades, and feasts fill the Chinese calendar. 4 

The State of the Empire 

THE HISTORY OF THE QING 

At this point in history, the Qing dynasty has been 

in possession of China for approximately 200 years. 

Founded by a Manchu clan (an ethnic minority) in 

northeastern China in 1644, the leaders of the Manchu 

uprising were comprised of hunter-gatherer Chinese 

allied with their more war-like Mongol neighbors to the 

north. Together, the rebel group that would become the 

Qing overthrew the reigning Ming capital at Beijing and, 

after a shuffling of rulers and a series of initial reforms, 

established a new dynasty. Included in these initial 

reforms were the creation of a Manchu script and a new 

civil administrative system (including ethnic quotas to 

promote Manchu involvement), both of which served to 

institutionalize Manchu culture in a nation of primarily 

non-Manchu. The Qing continued to solidify their power 

over China for a century until reaching their peak with 

the rule of the Qianlong Emperor, who further increased 

Qing hegemony through a series of initiatives including 

the widespread suppression of popular revolt, the 

consolidation of a national library, and the subsequent 

initiation of a “literary inquisition”. However, with 

this amassing of power came the increasing prevalence 

of internal corruption, exemplified by the imperial 

bodyguard Heshen who accrued countless riches over 

the course of his career. It is approximately one century 

after the reign of the Qianlong Emperor – one century 

rife with popular uprisings, government corruption, and 

increasing European interference – that the stage was set 

for the Taiping Rebellion. 

POVERTY 

Poverty is the most immediate issue plaguing the 

common man in 1850’s China, and it has proven to be 

one of the greatest motivating factors for people to join 

the Taiping cause. A financial crisis is gripping the Qing 

Empire from the national treasury all the way down to 

each individual home. On a macroscopic level, this crisis 

is the result of administrative inefficiency (for example, 

the emperor has been unable to change the tax rate 

since 1712), a lack of economic buffers such as credit or 

state-issued bonds, widespread corruption and internal 

theft, and a massive drain on silver reserves as a result 

of costly opium importation. 5 These issues are further 

complicated by runaway population growth without an 

accompanying increase in arable land. Between 1751 and 

1851, the population of China more than doubled from 

182 million to 432 million, while the area of arable land 

has increased by only 8.5%. 6 With such a large population 

depending on insufficient food supplies, “a partial failure 

of crops or a change in the course of trade reduce masses 

of population to a state of starvation and drives them 

to support life by pillage”. 7 In the years preceding the 

Taiping Rebellion, this already dire situation has been 

exacerbated by a series of famines, floods, and droughts 

that have pushed the country to the brink of rebellion. 

ETHNIC RESTLESSNESS 

Within the generally struggling agrarian population 

of China are ethnic groups that are set at an even greater 

disadvantage. Tribes like the Miao, Yao, and Hakka 

are all seen as outsiders, encroaching on the hereditary 

landholdings of natives, and are often relegated to 

unappealing mountainous areas. The Hakkas, however, 

are not so different from their native neighbors as to 

provoke total exclusion. They often take on unwanted 

occupations (as barbers, miners, and blacksmiths) but 

are guaranteed several slots in the local examinations 

for bureaucratic posts. 8 What differentiates the Hakka 

the most is their nonconforming gender roles. Unlike 

most women in Qing China, Hakka women have never 

bound their feet, granting them the ability as well as the 

expectation to work alongside their male counterparts. 

In order to maintain their carefully guarded existence 

among the antagonistic natives, Hakkas have a long 

history of banding together to stand up to neighbors 

and are said to have been the last group to submit to 

the Manchu conquerors. 9 This gender egalitarianism and 

fighting spirit has proven very important to the Taiping 

Rebellion, with both Hakka men and women moving 

out of the farm fields and onto the battlefield. 

BUREAUCRATIC BREAKDOWN 

The Qing dynasty, ruler of China since 1644, finally 

reached its peak during the reign of the Emperor Qianlong, 

after whom each successive ruler was less and less fit to 

rule, especially in the troubled economic times discussed 

earlier. 10 Massive spending on a lavish summer palace 

and border control significantly drained the imperial 


treasury, as did the power-grabbing efforts of Qianlong’s 

bodyguard Ho-shen, who amassed for himself twenty 

public offices and an outrageous fortune of 800 million 

taels. 11 This blatant nepotism and even racism (Ho-shen, 

like most high-ranking officials, was of Manchu descent) 

did a great deal to devalue the centuries-old meritocratic 

system of civil service exams, provoking several minor 

revolutions. It is common knowledge among the 

Chinese people that public offices are often sold rather 

than earned, and that the low wages of public officials are 

supplemented through bribery and extortion. 12 Nearing 

the time of the Taiping Rebellion, blow after blow has 

chipped away at Qing hegemony including increased 

piracy, disastrous defeat in the Opium Wars, a declining 

military, natural disasters, and the growing threat of 

foreign interference. When rebellion finally struck, it is 

small wonder that the Taiping were able to gain such a 

foothold. 

A battle between Qing and European troops during the Opium war. 

History of Foreign Influence 

CANTON 

The foreign powers that would one day prove to be 

so influential in the events of the Taiping Rebellion were, 

for nearly a century, strictly confined to a single patch of 

land 270 paces long and wide. 13 This patch of land was 

the port of Canton, allotted to the Europeans (and later 



the Americans) in an effort by China to regain control of 

foreign trade under an agreement known as the “Canton 

System”. On the foreigners’ territory were built thirteen 

factories called “hongs”, named after the nationality of 

their inhabitants, who numbered about 300. 14 Within the 

hongs could be found Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, 

Austrian, English, and American representatives among 

others. Each nation vied for a share of the hefty profit 

to be made from trading opium, silk, medicine, furs, 

porcelain, and western goods. In addition to economic 

transactions, this port served as a conduit for language, 

religion, and ideas to pass from one culture to another 

and contributed greatly to the spread of Christianity 

within China. Western missionaries coming from 

Canton often hired local boats and illegally distributed 

their evangelical literature throughout the villages along 

the coast. Eventually, some of these pamphlets made 

their way to the village of Hong Xiuquan and sparked 

the religious furor that preceded 

the Taiping Rebellion. 

THE OPIUM WAR 

The first major conflict that 

set the tone for future relations 

between China and the West was 

the Opium War that lasted from 

1839 to 1842. 15 Distressed by the 

pervasive economic and moral 

drain caused by the European 

importation of opium and the 

rapidly growing number of 

Chinese addicts, China struck back 

against Britain (the main importer). 

Britain, in turn, saw an opportunity 

to finally extricate its Chinese trade 

from Qing imperial restrictions, 

and thereby expand its sphere of 

influence throughout the whole 

of China. Battles were fought, but 

the British won easily. Although 

the Chinese had far more troops 

at their disposal, the combination of the British forces’ 

superior technology (for example, the steamship) and 

renowned discipline led to a series of embarrassing routs 

for the Chinese. The Manchu troops, once infamous for 

their ferocity, came to be regarded as “paper tigers.” 16 The 

war was a total disaster for China, failing to accomplish 

any of its goals: the Treaty of Nanking scored concession 

7


after concession for the British without giving an inch in 

return. 

1842: THE TREATY OF NANKING 

The Treaty of Nanking marked the advent of a new 

era in Chinese history, and not a proud one. Shamed 

by the loss of the Opium War but still prideful and 

xenophobic, the “Chinese authorities tried their best to 

get the British forces out of China by signing the peace 

treaty without even reading the articles”. 17 Indeed, some 

scholars have concluded that the Opium War’s exposure 

of the weaknesses within the Qing government directly 

inspired subsequent insurrections, including the Taiping 

Rebellion. 18 With Britain’s victory also came countless 

new opportunities for trade, trade that was now under 

European control rather than Chinese. Deprived of the 

tiny port of Canton, the British seized Hong Kong and 

secured five additional Chinese ports for European trade. 

The many Chinese who, under the Canton System, had 

supplemented legal trade with profitable smuggling 

ventures, were ousted by the more capable British 

supervision of river trade; many of these smugglers 

turned instead to open piracy. These pirates would later 

prove to be an important faction during the Taiping 

Rebellion: a considerable force whose loyalties changed 

with the wind (see “Bandits and Pirates” below). Other, 

more direct consequences of the Treaty of Nanking were 

massive war reparations to be paid to Britain, recognition 

of the British consuls’ authority, the release of all British 

prisoners of war, and the official cession of Hong Kong 

to Britain. 

Chronology of the Rebellion 

Having established the context of the rebellion, it 

is now possible to trace the rebellion from its humble 

beginnings to the current impressive state of the Taiping 

Heavenly Kingdom. 

HONG XIUQUAN 

In order to thoroughly understand the present 

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it is necessary to first study 

both its origins and it originator: namely, Hong Xiuquan, 

the Heavenly Emperor. Originally from the village of 

Guanlubu in the province of Guangdong, the Hongs are 

a Hakka family – an ethnic minority or “guest people” 

still not quite accepted by the older inhabitants of this 

area. Despite their Hakka lineage, the Hongs have a long 

history of powerful figures in the Chinese bureaucracy, 

from Confucian scholars to high officials. Unfortunately 

for the Hongs however, this aptitude was apparently not 

passed down to later generations; ever since the Hongs’ 

move to Guangdong in the 1600s, “none of the Hongs 

are recorded as having passed the state examinations, 

even at the local level”. 19 Nonetheless, the future seemed 

bright for the young boy who at the time was called Hong 

Houxiu, but would come to be known as Hong Xiuquan. 

Even as a child, Hong “displayed the personality traits that 

were to affect his course in later life. He was egocentric, 

liked to be the leader of his playmates, and would beat 

anyone who did not obey his orders”. 20 His family, tutors, 

and even village leaders had high hopes for him as his 

obvious intelligence and great memory earned him the 

opportunity to study for the bureaucratic examinations, 

despite his family’s poverty. In 1836, after a lifetime of 

careful preparation and memorization, Hong took a 

stab at the examinations with no more success than his 

recent ancestors. Three subsequent attempts were equally 

fruitless, possibly because of his inability to raise funds for 

a bribe, or simply because of the incredibly low passing 

rates. However, two things that the future Heavenly 

Emperor did gain from this process were a growing 

hatred for the imperial bureaucracy, and a Christian text, 

given to Hong by a foreign missionary lingering near the 

waiting test-takers. Although he only gave it a cursory 

glance at the time, this text would later prove to be the 

catalyst for the entire Taiping Rebellion. 

ORIGINS OF THE GOD-WORSHIPPING SOCIETY: 

EARLY CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY INFLUENCE 

It is widely believed that the missionary who 

gave Hong the Christian text was Edward Stevens, an 

American minister assigned to Canton as the chaplain of 

The fateful exam hall where Hong applied for public service so 

many times before receiving the Bible that would irrevocably 

change his life. 


the American Seamen’s Friend Society. 21 He had spent the 

past several years personally (and illegally) distributing 

translated Christian books – such as doctrines, sections of 

the gospel, collected Bible stories. Stevens was assisted by 

the efforts of a Chinese Christian named Liang Afa, who 

as a boy had worked carving wooden printing blocks for 

a Scottish missionary. Having absorbed the material he 

was helping to print and thus converting to Christianity, 

Liang became one the leading propagators of printed 

Christian doctrine throughout China, enlisting fellow 

missionaries to distribute boxes of books across the 

countryside. Many missionaries, like Stevens, targeted 

the large crowds of intellectuals that gathered at the sites 

of bureaucratic examinations, trying to gain a foothold 

among the future leaders and 

thinkers of China. As radical 

as the Christian doctrine 

was within the traditional 

Confucian culture, the books 

were snatched up as fast as 

the missionaries could supply 

them for various reasons: 

their excitingly foreign 

concepts and promises of 

paradise, the rarity and value 

of books among peasants, 

or out of pure greed for 

handouts from westerners. 

Regardless of the motives of 

the books’ recipients, it is 

undeniable that the word of 

God was beginning to spread 

among the people of China. 

HONG’S FIRST VISION 

After qualifying again at the county level in 1837, 

Hong returned to Canton to attempt the bureaucratic 

examinations. He did not pass, and overcome with 

exhaustion from the long journey and disappointment 

from failure, he collapsed in bed and remained there for 

weeks. It was during this long period of fevered sleep 

that prophetic visions first began to visit Hong. These 

fantastic dreams, incredibly detailed and filled with 

potent symbolism, would form the basis for the doctrine 

of the God-Worshippers and indeed the ideology of the 

entire Taiping Rebellion. The visions proceeded in the 

following manner: 

A crowd of people began to carry Hong to the depths 

of Hell as he offered dying words to friends and family. 


He was welcomed by men in robes who cut him open 

and replaced all of his organs, a woman who called herself 

his mother, an imposing bearded man in a dragon robe 

who called himself Hong’s father, and an elder brother. 

His father grieved for the sins of the Chinese people 

and their current state of slavery to the “demon devils”, 

whose leader was Yan Luo (the king of Hell, according to 

Chinese Buddhism). 

Hong also grieved for humanity, and he asked for 

his father’s permission to battle the demon devils, which 

was granted along with a sword and a seal. With these 

weapons, Hong and an army of angels forced the demons’ 

retreat from the 33 levels of heaven, but at the final battle, 

spared Yan Luo’s life. 

Victorious, Hong was 

granted a heavenly palace, a 

wife (the “First Chief Moon”), 

a son, and a new name befitting 

a king (Hong Xiuquan). 

Hong’s father provided moral 

instruction, but all the while 

he warned that Hong must one 

day return to earth to save the 

people from the demon devils. 

Hong departed from 

heaven, leaving behind his 

heavenly family, in order to 

return to his earthly one. 

During the entirety of 

these visions, Hong’s family 

had nursed his writhing and 

shouting person. He was not 

A pictorial representation of Hong’s first vision. 

bed-ridden, or even unaware of 

his surroundings: records exist of coherent conversations 

between Hong and his family, songs that he sang, 

and heavenly poems transcribed during his period of 

“illness”. Psychological studies of Hong have compared 

his delirious state to the similarly revelatory trances of 

St. Paul, George Fox, and Pope John XXIII. 22 Gradually, 

Hong recuperated, returning to his studies, teaching 

job, and duties as a husband and a father. According 

to those who knew him, however, the period of illness 

had left him not weaker, but rather more imposing and 

confident: “his body increased in height and size, his 

pace became firm and imposing, his views enlarged and 

liberal. [Hong] also started to take an active interest in 

political affairs, both local and national” 23 . 


9


ORIGINAL DOCTRINE AND INTERPRETATIONS 

These visions lingered in Hong’s mind for seven years, 

profound but inexplicable until his friend Li Jingfang, 

while sifting through Hong’s bookcase, came across the 

text given to Hong by the Christian missionary many 

years before. Li asked to borrow the book, and upon 

reading it, excitedly returned it to Hong and insisted that 

he read it too. Within its pages, Hong found answers 

to the many questions raised by his visions: Liang Afa, 

the Chinese missionary who authored the text, discusses 

the omnipotent father figure Hong saw (God) in great 

depth, as well as the king of demons whom Hong spared 

(the Devil) and the elder brother seated at the side of 

the father (presumably Jesus). Much of the symbolism 

and imagery is consistent between the vision and the text 

(blazing swords, angels, and heavenly thrones), especially 

because Liang made the effort to translate the Biblical 

names into their Chinese mythological counterparts (for 

example, the Devil as Yan Luo). The text tells both of 

the fall of man (whom Hong’s heavenly father grieved 

over in the vision) and of the redemption promised by 

Jesus’ death. Lastly, Liang speaks of a final battle and a 

judgment to fall upon the people of all nations. 

Indeed, Hong discovered many parallels between 

himself and his heavenly elder brother, such as remarkable 

aptitude as a child and the fact that Jesus’ evangelism 

did not begin until age thirty – the same age that Hong 

was when he read the text. Liang had also added his own 

commentary to the texts, bolstered by Old Testament 

stories, incorporating criticism of Confucianism, 

Buddhism, Taoism, and their contributions to popular 

Chinese idolatry. He points to Christianity, the religion 

of the westerners, as the one pure faith, free of idolatry 

and misguided teachings. Liang also speaks very strongly 

against substance use (most specifically opium and 

alcohol), a theme that would surface later in Taiping 

doctrine. 

Drawing on this biblical theology and Liang’s remarks, 

Hong constructed a cohesive narrative of what had 

transpired in his visions and where his role as God’s son 

should lead him next. Also coloring this interpretation 

were traditional Chinese values such as a focus on family 

– as shown by the detailed genealogy of Hong’s heavenly 

family – and Confucian moral teachings that provided 

more familiar ethical justifications for his newly adopted 

doctrine. Out of this whole experience, Hong emerged 

convinced that: 

He was indeed God’s son, and Jesus was his elder 

brother. 

Like Jesus, he had been born into the role of savior. 

Building upon the foundation and the teachings 

Jesus had left during his earthly life, Hong’s purpose was 

to rid China and the world of its demon oppressors`, 

although at this point it remained unclear who these 

demons actually were. 

The Western Christian ideals were the truth, and all 

other faiths were misguided at best. To worship anyone 

or anything but the Christian God was blasphemy and 

contributed to the worldly strength of the demons. 

Although full of gaps, personal commentary, and 

imperfect cultural translations, Liang’s document 

confirmed for Hong the legitimacy and profundity of his 

visions, and it spurred him to assume leadership in the 

battle against the idolatry that had saturated China. 

EARLY EVANGELISM 

Hong began his new life as a Christian in the same 

way that his elder brother Jesus had: with baptism. Hong 

and his friend Li baptized each other in the manner 

prescribed in Liang’s text. Then, in order to begin their 

war against the demons, they each ordered swords 

to be made like the one with which Hong had smote 

the demons of his vision. Their crusade had humble 

beginnings, with poetry writing and retelling of Hong’s 

dream throughout the village. Family and close friends 

were the first converts, most notably Hong Rengan 

and Feng Yunshan, who would later become two of the 

Taiping Rebellion’s most important generals. While not 

preaching, the converts ravenously studied Liang’s text 

for new insights, which were then passed on throughout 

the village and carried home to other villages by visitors 

stopping in Guanlubu. 

SPREAD AND DEVELOPMENT 

THE BREAK 

One of the first ways in which Hong and his 

followers struck at the “demons” was by attacking the 

place where the demons’ false teachings first took hold 

in the peoples’ minds: the classroom. By edict, Chinese 

classrooms were lined with tablet after tablet extolling 

the words of Confucius and his disciples. All of these 

teachings typically would be thoroughly drilled into 

the minds of any ambitious young person aiming for 

future public service. Like many of his followers, Hong 

was a teacher. Piece-by-piece, the God-Worshippers 

confiscated the offending tablets. This action provoked 

protest from both concerned parents and town officials, 



who quickly relieved the desecrators from their posts. 

Devoid of jobs, increasingly at odds with town leaders, 

and itching for bigger ways to spread their new faith, the 

God-Worshippers decided to take to the road. At this 

point, the main circle of believers included Hong, Feng 

Yunshan, Hong Rengan (although his parents prevented 

him from leaving with the others), and several relatives. 

Li Jingfang had by this point fallen out of favor. The four 

God-Worshippers then left Guanlubu in the spring of 

1844 in search of open hearts and open minds. 

EXPANDING VISIONS 

Hong and his followers first moved southward 

towards Canton, passing through the city and circling 

it to the south, then swinging northward again in a 

crescent around Guanlubu. Everywhere they went, the 

God-Worshippers spread their message, enjoying great 

success with relatives living in such villages. After about 

a month, Hong proposed that the group disband for 

the sake of efficiency. He and Feng Yunshan would 

attempt to push westward to where the most distant of 

their converts had spread to a village called Sigu. Along 

their route, they managed to leave behind disciples eager 

to help expand their area of influence. In the village of 

Sigu, Hong’s throng of followers grew to number in the 

hundreds, but having been separated from his family for 

months, he decided to return home. Upon arriving in 

Guanlubu, Hong returned to his job as a schoolteacher, 

all the while developing his doctrine in a series of texts. 

Recognizing the power of religious texts in aiding 

the process of conversion, Hong began to transcribe 

his own doctrine and commentary under the title of 

“Exhortations to Worship the One True God”, drawing 

on both Liang Afa’s book and traditional Chinese poems 

and even, ironically, Confucian texts. He especially 

emphasized six of his own commandments: 

Do not succumb to lust. 

Obey one’s parents. 

Do not kill. 

Do not steal. 

Avoid witchcraft and magic. 

Do not gamble. 24 

Hong also developed a simple religious ceremony for 

gatherings of worshippers, including hymns, sermons, 

and collective prayers: Christian elements were infused 

with distinctively Chinese traditions (for example, 

combining a baptism with ceremonial tea-drinking). 

Feng, on the other hand, did not return to Guanlubu 

immediately, but instead stayed on the road with one 


of his loyal converts. The two moved throughout the 

Guangxi province, following waterways and highways 

from village to village until they finally reached the 

region surrounding Thistle Mountain. It was Feng who 

originally coined the term God-Worshipping Society, 

and also Feng who first collected a cohesive group of 

followers, and led them to Thistle Mountain. 

An example of a Taiping religious service. 

ORIGINS AT THISTLE MOUNTAIN 

The first rumblings of what would become the Taiping 

Rebellion were heard in a region of China known as 

Thistle Mountain. Feng Yunshan, one of Hong’s earliest 

and most avid converts, had become separated from 

Hong in 1844 but decided to continue his evangelist 

activities. 25 Aided by local believers, Feng moved among 

the villagers of the Thistle Mountain region, constantly 

preaching and collecting a growing group of eager 

followers that he dubbed the “God-Worshipping Society”. 

His remarkable success in these efforts may be attributed 

to the demographic inhabiting this region. These rural 

people lacked traditional Confucian educations, were of 

the same outcast Hakka background as Hong and Feng, 

had little to thank the Qing for, and were very similar to 

the poor farmers that Jesus often addressed in the Gospel 

(in the Sermon on the Mount and agrarian parables). 26 

Hong rejoined Feng in 1847, finding him by following 

the trail of converts left in his wake. During the years of 

their separation, Hong had been ceaselessly writing and 

developing his doctrine. Reunited with his most faithful 

follower, the two took it upon themselves (and their 

fresh converts) to rid the Thistle Mountain region of its 

many idols and shrines, including the most controversial 

11


“heretic” of all: Confucius. Their work began small – 

stealing the Confucian tablets out of schoolrooms and 

defacing minor mountain shrines – but quickly escalated 

when the God-Worshippers set their sights on the most 

prestigious of Thistle Mountain idols, a spirit known 

as King Gan, to whom at least five temples had been 

dedicated. 27 Denouncing King Gan as a manifestation of 

the Devil, Hong and a group of his followers raided the 

foremost of these temples, desecrating the image of Gan 

and covering the walls with “triumphant poems” and “a 

manifesto of defiance”. 28 

Such insolence did not go unnoticed. While cementing 

the God-Worshippers’ commitment to fighting idolatry 

and raising Hong in the estimation of his followers, the 

destruction of the shrine also provoked the anger of 

local authorities. Although the local magistrate refused 

to take any official action against the troublemakers, 

members of the landed gentry took matters into their 

own hands by arresting Feng (Hong had left town to visit 

friends). They charged Feng with crimes of organizing 

a brotherhood numbering in the thousands, defaming 

local gods and destroying their shrines, and preaching 

a false religion. A tense struggle ensued when the God- 

Worshippers forcibly freed Feng, causing the gentry to 

raise more militia and again arrest Feng and several of 

his lieutenants. Finally, the entire matter was handed 

over to the judgment of the local magistrate. In the end, 

supported by convincing legal arguments (proof of the 

God-Worshippers’ peaceful doctrine and guarantees 

against persecution of Christians spelled out in the Treaty 

of Nanking) and equally convincing bribes from wealthy 

believers, Feng was released. However, he was required to 

return to his hometown that was a province away. 

Inspired by the excitement of recent events, the God- 

Worshippers’ areas of influence grew into four rough 

areas surrounding Thistle Mountain. They funded their 

operations with the support of wealthy believers, whose 

assets were cheerfully absorbed by the policy of collective 

land and treasury holdings. 29 Despite these patrons’ 

ability to bribe local officials, escalating friction with the 

local gentry resulted in several more incarcerations during 

1849. At the same time, an increasingly anti-Qing stance 

grew among the God-Worshippers and would soon break 

into open conflict. 

INITIAL SKIRMISHES 

Although no clear point marks the beginning of 

armed conflict between the Taiping and their Qing 

oppressors, the momentum behind the God-Worshipper 

movement in 1850 made it clear that such conflict was 

both imminent and inevitable. 30 Hong’s rhetoric became 

increasingly warlike as the year went on. It became 

common knowledge among the God-Worshippers that 

the “demons” and “devils” against which their leader 

had preached for years were in reality their Manchu 

overlords, and that the spiritual battles that had been 

previously foretold would be fought not in the soul but 

on a bloody battlefield. Precautions and first steps were 

taken: beacons, signal lights, the organization of military 

hierarchy, the mobilization of troops, the purchase 

of gunpowder, and the secret manufacture of arms. 31 

Many Chinese flocked to the Taiping camps – displaced 

Hakkas, impoverished farmers, even bandits and pirates 

– anyone with a reason to wish for the downfall of the 

Qing or to value the stability of army life. As the God- 

Worshippers’ numbers swelled and their cause hardened, 

several groups solidified as threats to the Taiping cause. 

The Battle of Jintian 

FIRST BLOOD 

December of 1850 marked the Qing’s first moves 

to suppress the early rebellion. Following rumors and 

by tracking gunpowder purchases, a small Qing force 

cooperating with local militia discovered and closed in 

on the small village where Hong and his family were 

encamped. They cut off the one path into the city by 

erecting a hedgehog-like wall of sharpened bamboo 

stakes. However, Hong managed to send word through 

the mountain passes to Jintian, the main Taiping base, in 

time for the rebels to mount an attack on the Qing force’s 

rear, routing them and removing the stakes. 32 Qing forces 

suffered fifty casualties, including a magistrate, marking 

the first death among the Manchu “demons.” 

THE BATTLE OF JINTIAN 

The Qing forces swiftly rallied and retaliated with 

increased numbers and purpose. In late December, an 

army of Qing soldiers and local militiamen took up 

position five miles from Jintian. 33 Their numbers having 

swelled to over 10,000 by the recent flood of recruits, 

the Taiping rebels readied themselves in a defensive 

formation. 34 The Battle of Jintian began on 1 January 

1851; by the end of the day, the Qing forces had been 

encircled and routed. Subsequent reinforcements that 

came the next day were similarly defeated. 35 Despite 

this victory, the lack of spoils deflated the enthusiasm of 

many Taiping recruits, and, realizing which side would 


soon be more desperate for their help, many of the 

pirates and Triads even deserted to offer their services to 

the Qing. In an effort to replenish supplies, the rebels 

quickly moved to capture the nearby village of Jiangkou, 

a prosperous town with good defensive capabilities. They 

The throes of a battle between the Qing Imperial Army and the Taiping rebels. 

successfully took the village and held it for over a month 

despite renewed aggression from the Qing, but in early 

March they succumbed and fled the city, beaten but well 

supplied. In all the excitement of their first few victories, 

Hong Xiuquan officially declared the advent of the 

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, marking 1851 as the first 

year of a new calendar based on the Western model. 36 

THE FLIGHT FROM THISTLE MOUNTAIN 

Despite their initial burst of successes, the Taiping 

rebels began to stumble as the Qing devoted more and 

more troops to the suppression of the mountain uprising. 

Ling Shiba, a passionate early convert who had continued 

spreading Hong’s doctrine and collecting troops and 

supplies in his leader’s absence, led a band of rebels to 

take the nearby town of Yulin. Garnering popular support 

and fresh recruits by opening the local granaries to the 

poor, Ling moved onwards with a force of 3,000 to rejoin 

his leader but was successfully rebuffed by determined 

Qing forces (with the assistance of the pirate leader Big 


Head Yang – one of those who had deserted the Taiping 

after Jintian). 37 Hong and his generals decided that 

the best course of action would be to catch the Qing 

completely off-guard by abandoning Thistle Mountain 

and moving swiftly to their next target. Burning villages 

and stripping the countryside of 

supplies as they went, the rebels 

set off to the northeast, leaving the 

bewildered Qing forces trailing. In 

official Qing records, entry after 

entry bemoans the reluctance of 

Qing troops, the local embezzlement 

that has prevented proper defense 

maintenance in villages, and the 

ineptness of the Qing pursuit: 

“Our mighty army only follows 

after them, but is in no condition to 

attack them at strategic points. We 

move only when the rebels move… 

It would seem that our army is less 

intelligent than the brigands.” 38 

THE CAPTURE OF YONGAN 

Hurrying along the Meng River, 

the Taiping armies headed towards 

their target, the prosperous city of 

Yongan. By the time the Qing forces 

tailing them were able to determine 

where the rebels were headed, the 

rebels had already taken the city 

by a combination of ruse (using fireworks and rattling 

stones to exaggerate their numbers) and strategy (siege 

equipment and wall-scaling regiments). 39 Hoping to 

gain the support of the city’s inhabitants, Hong vowed 

heavy punishment for looting and actively pursued the 

restoration of the city to recapture prosperity. 40 However, 

the Taiping troops did raid the vacant homes of landed 

gentry who had fled, reaped the harvests of their fields, 

distributed some of the bounty to the local populace, 

and collected the rest in the Taiping’s common treasury. 

Despite the ever-swelling ranks of the Taiping troops 

(which then numbered over 20,000) and defensive 

precautions thrown up around the city (including 

earthworks, patrols in the surrounding countryside, and 

wooden watchtowers), Qing armies of more than 46,000 

troops began to amass outside the city and occasionally 

moved to cut communications or to strike at the Taiping’s 

furthermost outposts. 41 


13


The first major Qing attack came in the form of the 

successful destruction of a Taiping supply depot at the very 

edge of the rebels’ domain. Others such assaults followed 

until Yongan was completely cut off from all supply 

lines. Qing informants were occasionally discovered, but 

the threat of those left undiscovered remained. By the 

beginning of 1852, it became clear that the rebels had 

to break free or else perish within the walls of Yongan. 

In early April, moving through the least guarded of 

Yongan’s gates, the whole of the Heavenly Kingdom 

forced their way through the startled Qing defenses and 

into the safety of the mountains; approximately 2,000 

rebels succumbed to the Qing’s pursuit, but in an act of 

vengeance, the rebels left a trail of mines and ambushes 

(causing strategic avalanches) that repaid in kind, leaving 

5,000 Qing dead. 42 

SIEGES EN ROUTE 

Although it was not by choice that the Taiping fled 

their homes in Yongan, their brief stay 

there supplied them with considerable 

numbers of new recruits (the Taiping 

forces by then numbered over 40,000) as 

well as supplies. Furthermore, additional 

supplies were stripped from the dead 

Qing pursuers, including a large store 

of gunpowder and Qing banners and 

uniforms for decoys. 43 Their flight, 

which at one point took them upriver, 

was aided by the negligence of Big-Head 

Yang (the very same pirate who had 

deserted the Taiping after Jintian and 

had proved instrumental in preventing 

the meeting of Ling Shiba’s army with 

the main force). Although still employed 

by the Qing, Yang seemed reluctant 

to finish off his prey too early into the 

hunt, and, after a suitable bribe, let them pass without 

pursuit. The rebels’ destination was Guilin: the Guangxi 

province’s prosperous capital. 

However, despite their luck with Big-Head Yang 

and their Qing uniform disguises was not enough as the 

Taiping were thwarted by a Qing general who managed 

to reach Guilin in time to warn against the approaching 

army. Despite the rebels’ recent acquisition of a company 

of former miners (who were invaluable in attempting a 

siege), Guilin’s strong walls and lengthy circumference 

proved too much for even the inventive Taiping. Cutting 

their losses by stealing a fleet of forty ships and heavily 

bribing Big-Head Yang for yet another safe voyage, the 

rebels moved on ever northward. Stopping briefly to 

capture the port city of Xingan, the Taiping kept moving. 

The Taiping were in the midst of passing the city of 

Quanzhou when a Qing wall guard took a haphazard 

shot at the marching rebels, striking Feng Yunshan. In an 

immediate and collective act of rage, the rebels halted their 

march and turned on Quanzhou with unprecedented 

fury, battering its walls until they successfully forced 

an entry. They promptly slaughtered all who remained 

within. 

Stripping the city of all its useful resources and 

expanding their fleet with 200 stolen ships, the Taiping 

pushed heedlessly onward, directly into an ambush. 44 

Jiang Zhongyuan, the militia leader who had laid the 

trap, was a member of the landed gentry and the son of a 

powerful family who had taken the burden of public safety 

upon himself. Jiang, however, came from a far wealthier 

The ambush on the Yangtze River proved fatal to the Taiping fleet. 

and more influential family than any of the landlords the 

Taiping had dealt with before, and presented therefore an 

entirely new kind of threat. The ambush in question was 

aimed mainly at the Taiping’s new navy, which had begun 

to cause apprehension amongst the Qing commanders; 

as noted in an official transcript, “if the brigands descend 

by river as well as by land, the entire situation will be 

beyond control.” 45 This ambush consisted of a cunning 

blockade laid at a bend in the river, impossible to see until 

almost directly upon it. The trap was sprung with terrible 

efficiency, smashing into the first of the ships, which in 

turn was slammed from behind by an unstoppable pileup 

of the entire fleet. Shots from Jiang’s troops, hidden in 


the trees of the riverbank, began a fire that spread rapidly 

throughout the jumble of compacted ships. 

If the fleet had merely been stolen warships, the loss 

would have been great but replaceable. However, upon 

first taking possession of their fleet, the Taiping had 

filled the ships with their supplies and dependents (the 

wives and families of the soldiers) in order to move more 

rapidly, and so the destruction was therefore catastrophic. 

Ten thousand troops were lost that day, along with 300 

ships; the damage would have been far worse if, as Jiang 

had planned, a second Qing force had been waiting for 

the floundering rebels on the opposite riverbank, but the 

leader of this cooperative force apparently did not carry 

through with his assignment. 46 Battered and in need 

of quick refuge, the Taiping moved towards the city of 

Yongzhou only to find it prepared for their arrival, so 

they instead veered southwards towards the unsuspecting 

city of Daozhou. The rebels rested for about six weeks 

in Daozhou, using the time to collect supplies, troops, 

and composure. Many locals flocked to the rebel cause 

– upwards of 50,000 by some estimates – drawn by their 

anti-Qing rhetoric, past military successes, and promises 

of paradise to come. 47 Because of their familiarity with the 

surrounding area, these recruits would prove invaluable in 

scoping out local cities and guiding the growing Taiping 

flotilla through nearby waterways. The rebels’ first move 

that broke this period of inactivity was a failed siege 

against the city of Changsha, which, during the brief 

period of time between the Taiping’s first minor stab at 

its defenses and their full onslaught, was able to summon 

over 40,000 Qing defenders to its walls. 48 Deciding that 

the month-long siege was not worth continuing and 

having thoroughly stripped the countryside of supplies, 

ships, and men, Hong ordered his troops onwards in an 

impressive display of military might. 

THE CAPTURE OF WUCHANG 

Upon abandoning Changsha, the Taiping struck 

boldly at the provincial capital of Wuchang with all of 

the cunning and tricks of war they had gained through 

past experience. Their flotilla grew rapidly as the army 

absorbed any ships and boatmen in its path, using the 

speedy vessels to rapidly carry supplies, gunpowder, and 

dependents along a course that covered 300 miles in less 

than a month. 49 Upon arriving at the lake-side city of 

Wuchang, instead of directly attacking its well-defended 

walls as in previous over-ambitious sieges, the rebels 

instead gained footholds in two nearby cities, and then 

struck at Wuchang’s weak underbelly: its harbor side. In 



spite of all of the defensive measures taken by the Qing, 

the Taiping took Wuchang in early 1853. It was the largest 

city they had ever occupied, and it provided the first real 

opportunity to execute the many social and religious 

reforms the Taiping leaders had been developing for 

years, including the collectivization of land and wealth, 

the division of housing by sex, the allocation of food 

staples, and the banning of trade within city walls. To 

the surprise of the recovering Qing, however, the Taiping 

abandoned Wuchang within a month, taking with them 

all of the gold, silver, gunpowder, supplies, and men 

they could carry on the more than 2,000 ships they had 

commandeered from the area surrounding the city. 50 

NANJING, THE HEAVENLY CAPITAL 

The rebels’ destination was none other than the old 

Ming capital, the prosperous city of Nanjing. Tracing 

the route of the Yangtze River, the Taiping moved as 

rapidly as possible, stopping only to suck dry those cities 

offering little resistance, picking no fights they were not 

certain they would win. All those in the rebels’ path 

were advised to yield; in return for unchecked passage, 

the Taiping promised “an absence of incidents,” but 

swore that resistors would be “completely annihilated”. 51 

Moving even more swiftly than on the flight to Wuchang, 

the Taiping flotilla covered the 600 miles to Nanjing in 

less than a month. 52 Despite the city’s impressively stout 

walls, Nanjing was a sprawling metropolis, too large 

to be well defended throughout, even by the tens of 

thousands of Qing troops within. Striking at both the 

city’s least defended corner and its core with shots from 

surrounding hillsides, the rebels quickly breached the 

walls, and with a flurry of bloodshed, stamped out the 

last “demons” from what would become their Heavenly 

Capital. 

Revision and Rejection: Subsequent Visions and 

Rejection of Confucianism 

Having followed the rebellion’s military course from 

its humble beginnings to its current, formidable state of 

affairs, let us now examine its evangelical trajectory from 

within, exploring the leaders and internal dynamics of 

this revolutionary religious movement. 

After rejoining Feng in 1847 at Thistle Mountain, 

Hong and his lieutenant set out to expand and elaborate 

on Hong’s original vision, drawing from the full text of the 

Bible (of which they had recently acquired a translation) 

and a newfound animosity towards Confucius. Their 

hostility towards Confucius contrasted with their 

15


previous mere dissatisfaction with the idolatrous 

corruption of his teachings. In these new retellings of 

his original vision, Hong incorporated a scene in which 

his heavenly father praises the flawless sanctity of the 

Bible and accuses Confucius of spreading idolatrous 

mistruths to supplant the One True God in China. In 

this revised dream, Confucius, “seeing that everyone in 

the high heaven pronounced him guilty, secretly [flees] 

down from heaven, hoping to join up with the leader of 

the demon devils” 53 . As punishment, God has Confucius 

mercilessly whipped and bars him 

from ever returning to the world. 

This violent addition and 

shameless revisionism foreshadowed 

not only the militaristic future 

of the God-Worshippers but also 

the frequency with which God’s 

authority would be invoked to justify 

new policies proposed by Hong and 

his generals. Indeed, as the Taiping 

movement grew increasingly radical, 

the voices and opinions of Jesus and 

the One True God were “channeled” 

with increasing frequency, especially 

by Feng Yunshan (who claimed 

to be the voice of God) and Xiao 

Chaogui (first a convert, and later 

a general who claimed to be the 

voice of Jesus). This claim to divine 

preference and private heavenly 

communication channels would 

later bring the Taiping leaders into 

conflict with European Christians, 

who found their claims incredulous. 

INTERACTION WITH 

EUROPEAN CHRISTIANS 

Besides the original missionaries who had handed 

Hong Xiuquan that fateful text, Hong had come into 

contact with very few Western Christians, especially 

considering how much religious authority he had 

secured. It is therefore unsurprising that, given the small 

bits of real Christian doctrine available to Hong, the 

religion he extrapolated from this information quickly 

evolved into a form of Christianity rather different 

from its European counterpart. In his early years as a 

Christian, Hong was able to secure an audience with an 

American missionary named Issachar Roberts, who for 

a time tutored Hong and his cousin Hong Rengan in 

biblical matters. However, just before receiving an official 

baptism, ill-meaning competitors for Robert’s attention 

framed Hong as a fraud simply seeking missionary society 

handouts. Roberts banished Hong, and for a long time 

afterwards, Hong’s Christian development was entirely 

under his own tutelage. 

As Hong gained access to more biblical texts, it 

became increasingly apparent that several major 

disconnects existed between the European and Taiping 

forms of Christianity. These disconcerting gaps were first 

made starkly apparent by the 

visit of British representatives 

to the Heavenly City on 

a fact-finding mission. 

Delighted by the opportunity 

to interact with live European 

Christians, Hong assigned 

Yang Xiuqing, his deputy, 

to compare doctrine with 

the visitors. Yang submitted 

a list of fifty questions 

to the British, asking for 

confirmation of the physical, 

anatomical details of the 

Trinity as recorded in Hong’s 

vision (hair color, height, and 

clothing) and the genealogy of 

the Heavenly family (number 

of children and their ages). 

The British were flabbergasted 

by this request for details that 

they considered irrelevant 

to God or unknowable to 

the mortal Christians, and 

Several European missionaries, dressed in robes and they responded mostly with 

examining Chinese script. 

generalities and denials that 

such information existed. However, to cement the split, 

the British translator stated, “We place no faith in any 

one of your dogmas to this effect [concerning Hong 

Xiuquan’s divine heritage], and can subscribe to none of 

them. We believe only what is revealed to us in the Old 

and New Testaments….” 54 

This came as quite a shock to the leaders of the God- 

Worshipping Society, a shock that was translated into 

firm denial and a determination to edit – and if necessary, 

re-write – the Bible. As God, speaking through his 

medium Yang, advised, “Those books [the Old and New 

Testaments] are neither polished in literary terms nor 

are they fully complete. You must all consult together, 


and correct them so that they become both polished and 

complete.” 55 This enthusiasm to reject and correct was an 

integral part of the inner workings and progress of the 

Taiping Rebellion and would manifest itself in a variety 

of reforms. 

Holy Reforms 

Not all of the Taiping Rebellion was fought on the 

battlefield. Many of the most revolutionary aspects 

of the rebellion were found within the ranks of the 

Taiping Army, and later within the walls of the Heavenly 

Kingdom. A series of reforms on every level – from the 

domestic to the bureaucratic – all contributed towards 

the Taiping dream of a utopian society. 

REJECTION OF MANCHU INFLUENCE 

The largest and most visible reform was that for which 

the entire rebellion was fought: the overthrow of Manchu 

rule in China. The Taiping’s hatred for the Qing rulers was 

not simply a product of hard times, a bloated bureaucracy, 

or Hong’s visions, although all of these factors fanned 

the flames. It is important to remember that the Qing 

were a dynasty of foreign invaders, who had come from 

Manchuria in the early seventeenth century, complete 

with very different customs and traditions than those of 

the native Chinese or even the migratory Hakka. In fact, 

the Hakka were remembered as the last Chinese group to 

bow to Manchu rule, a fighting spirit resurrected in the 

Taiping Rebellion. Upon taking control of the country, 

A Chinese man smoking an opium pipe while receiving a haircut. The Qing Dynasty forced 

all Chinese men to wear their hair in queues. 



the Qing proceeded to force Manchu customs into every 

home, ordering men to adopt the shaved forehead and 

long ponytail called the “queue” and imposing a new 

standard of beauty that required women to painfully 

bind their feet to the point of crippling. 

As such, one of the most identifiable physical traits 

of a Taiping warrior was his rebelliously unbound 

hair and unshaved forehead. The Taiping fought back 

psychologically against the Manchu “demon-devils” 

through the very usage of such names: the dehumanization 

of the enemy is a common propaganda tactic in war, but 

rarely are enemies demoted so enthusiastically as to be 

relegated to the ranks of hell. Hong and his generals even 

took care to announce the renaming of several major 

Qing strongholds to reflect their hellish nature: for 

example, Peking was “Demon’s Den.” 56 

REJECTION OF CONFUCIAN TRADITION AND 

BUREAUCRACY 

In addition to overthrowing the foreign influences 

on both Chinese government and daily life, the God- 

Worshippers also took on the even more ambitious task 

of erasing one thousand years of Confucian tradition. 

As discussed in the section “Subsequent Visions and 

Rejection of Confucianism,” Hong took a hard stance 

early in his doctrinal development against the oncebeloved 

philosopher whose teachings he had spent his 

entire life memorizing. Hong claimed that this false 

prophet had usurped the One True God’s place of honor 

in the minds of the Chinese people. 

The implication of this stance was 

the responsibility to bring down the 

centuries-old Chinese bureaucratic 

system of meritocratic government 

based on Confucian knowledge. 

Whether prompted by a deep-seated 

thirst for vengeance against the exams 

that had denied him a life of privilege 

or by genuine religious devotion, 

Hong and his followers extended their 

rebellion against the Qing demons 

to this larger revolt against the even 

older system used to propagate demon 

ideology. After securing Nanjing as the 

nascent Taiping Heavenly Capital, the 

rebel leaders set about creating new 

exams, based on Christian doctrine, 

to train a new class of bureaucrats. 

REJECTION OF POLYTHEIST 

17


CHINESE TRADITION 

One of the first reforms that Hong and his 

followers sought was to rid Chinese society from the 

pervasive presence of idolatry. As the name of the God- 

Worshipping Society would suggest, the Taiping rebels 

were adamant about the existence and uniqueness of the 

One True God. However, the Chinese pantheon at that 

time was prolifically polytheistic: the majority of Chinese 

people worshipped hundreds of major, minor, and even 

local deities. As such, one of the Taipings’ first decisive 

steps was the desecration of a local shrine paying homage 

to a spirit known as King Gan (see “Origins at Thistle 

Mountain” and “Village Life and Popular Religion” for 

more information). 

Following this initial burst of iconoclasm, the 

Taipings have continued to take a hard stance against 

Chinese polytheism and iconography. Taoists and 

Buddhists, perceived as the furthest from the Christian 

doctrine, received the least sympathy: upon the taking 

of Nanjing, every single temple and all of its contents 

were destroyed. 57 Monks and priests were treated harshly, 

and were forced to either convert or die. Muslims and 

Catholics, as closer relatives of Taiping Christianity, 

were afforded more grace. Nanjing’s mosques were 

left untouched, and although Catholics were brutally 

compelled to adopt the Taiping doctrine during the 

initial taking of the city, they were afterwards left alone. 

Toward all conquered peoples, the rebels have adopted 

a policy of forced conversion to both Taiping religion 

and culture, including mass baptisms, the swearing of 

oaths, and the absorption of all converts’ assets into 

central holdings. 

COLLECTIVIZATION OF FOOD, LAND, AND 

MONEY 

Notable for both its effects within the microcosm of 

the rebel kingdom and for its precociousness in the world 

at large, the Taipings’ system of collectivization was one 

of the most interesting of rebel reforms. Very early on 

in the course of the rebellion (perhaps in 1849 with the 

charitable donation of a large parcel of land by a family 

of fervent believers), the Taiping rebels adopted a policy 

of keeping all land, funds, grain, and other resources 

in large communal holdings. 58 Each new convert, rich 

or poor, was absorbed into the system and redealt his 

due. As the rebels were taking the walled city of Yongan 

in 1851, this process became codified in an attempt to 

thwart looting and regain the trust of the citizens within: 

“From this day on all soldiers and officers are ordered that, 

every time you kill demons or capture their cities, you 

must not hoard away for yourself the gold and valuables 

you find…but must hand over everything to the sacred 

treasury of our Heavenly Court.” 59 

This collectivization is certainly not a new concept 

to the Chinese; however, its justification and execution 

is rather different from a simple village storeroom. In 

explaining the idea to his converts, Hong referred to 

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (one of the stories included 

in his very first Christian text) in order to illuminate the 

promise that God would provide for all human needs. 

He did, however, also imply that in the coming Taiping 

Heavenly Kingdom, the allocation of riches would favor 

the bravest and most loyal of Taiping troops. 

Even more curiously, the state-run nature of this 

collectivization seems to reverberate very closely with the 

new world-changing ideas of German thinker Karl Marx 

and the concepts of communism he has proposed only 

three years before the Taiping occupation of Yongan. 

Gender Roles and the Separation of the Sexes 

TAIPING WOMEN 

The Taiping Rebel army included both male and female soldiers. 

Taiping women have occupied a rather fascinating 

combination of social positions. Caught at the crossroads 

between chaste, obedient wives and fearless, battletested 

warriors, the female rebels face both the burden 

of traditional patriarchy and the opportunity to prove 

themselves on the battlefield. The Taiping army includes 

regiments comprised entirely of females, and even minor 

female generals. The origin of these expectations of 

female participation can be traced to the rebels’ Hakka 

roots: Hakka women were never footbound like many 

Chinese women, so they were often found in the fields 

working alongside their husbands and sons. Indeed, 

some of the more hardened veterans, given positions of 


authority in the new capital, were utterly unsympathetic 

to recently conquered women who had been pressed into 

agricultural labor: “They ordered the new sisters to untie 

their bound feet, and then to carry bricks, tiles, and rice 

or to gather fuel and dig moats. Many of the women 

whose feet had been bound were unaccustomed to labour 

and were worked to death or committed suicide.” 60 This 

disconnect helps show exactly how unusual the Taiping 

women were in comparison to their civilian counterparts. 

ABSTINENCE LAWS 

Despite certain trends towards breaking 

down gender gaps in the workforce, the God- 

Worshipping Society firmly thrust separation 

by sex into every home. Although from his 

earliest commandments Hong had censured 

licentiousness, the Taiping obsession with 

enforcing abstinence did not truly begin 

until 1850 when a series of decrees slowly 

built segregation of the sexes into the Taiping 

lifestyle. Drawing on an Old Testament 

example, any couple caught breaking 

abstinence laws was brutally beaten for their 

sins. As the gender segregation system became 

more established, separate barracks were 

designated for each gender as decreed by Hong: “the men 

have the men’s areas and the women have women’s areas; 

they are not allowed to intermix. Men or women who 

commit adultery or who are licentious are considered 

monsters; this is the greatest possible transgression of the 

Heavenly Commandments.” 61 Even conquered people 

were relocated into newly assigned neighborhoods in 

their fallen cities, men apart from women. These edicts, 

however, seem to exclude Hong himself, who keeps a 

harem of “princess consorts” of whom he has warned his 

generals never to be jealous. 

REJECTION OF SUBSTANCE USE 

The Taipings’ other puritanical crusade was against 

recreational substance use, namely alcohol and opium. 

Drawing dually from Biblical condemnation and from 

the horrors of China’s recent Opium War (fought against 

the British opium trade that had managed to addict so 

many Chinese), denunciation of substance use has been 

a part of God-Worshipper doctrine since its earliest 

days. As Hong warns in his “Exhortations to Worship 

the One True God”, “With iron [men] bound the 

rivers and hills; because of wine they perished…In the 

present times how many spirited Chinese have ruined 

themselves by their constant use of the opium pipe!” 62 



With these admonitions as the foundation, the Taiping 

adopted very strict blue laws promising harsh beatings 

followed by public execution for any smokers of opium. 

Unfortunately, this clear opposition to the drug trade 

already foreshadowed conflict with the Western powers 

who, through their victories in the Opium War, had 

recently secured the power to propagate these very 

substances. 

A man smoking opium, considered by the Taiping to be the worst of sins. 

Nanjing: Earthly Paradise 

ADMINISTRATION 

With the capture of Nanjing came the partial 

realization of the rebels’ dream: the establishment of a 

Heavenly Capital for their paradise on earth. For the 

first time, the Taiping have an actual kingdom in which 

they can put their many reforms into practice. This 

opportunity adds another dimension to the rebellion: 

adopting a home for the God-Worshippers requires 

a level of long-term planning previously unnecessary, 

and therefore a new bureaucracy. Creating an effective 

governing body is a big step towards proving the Taiping 

as a worthy replacement for the reigning Qing. 

The first steps towards establishing the government of 

the newly declared Taiping Heavenly Kingdom involved 

a flurry of infrastructural and civil development, resulting 

in calls for the creation of a new system of meritocratic 

exams to populate this budding bureaucracy. From the 

deluge of decrees raining down from the offices of the 

high advisors, it was clear that this nascent administration 

would exert influence over every aspect of daily life. 

19


DAILY LIFE WITHIN THE WALLS 

In expanding from a simple collectivized military 

group into a fully utopian-style state, the God-Worshippers 

have undergone major changes in daily life, with even 

more ambitious reforms in store. Each man, woman, and 

child – even the recently conquered – are now counted 

and collected into groups of families 

sharing granaries and chapels. Daily 

religious involvement is a must, as is 

skilled trade work (in addition to the 

requisite farming of one’s own land). 

Land is divided based on family size 

and previous service in the rebellion. 

Families are provided with enough 

to get by, but all surplus is absorbed 

into the central treasury to be divided 

evenly amongst the masses according 

to need. A draft is constantly in place, 

but the laws of conscription respect 

extenuating circumstances. At this 

point, many of these reforms are in 

their earliest states, but the sudden 

creation of so many bureaucratic 

responsibilities has created a power 

vacuum waiting to be filled. 

POWER STRUGGLES 

As the scale of the Taiping 

Rebellion increased, several parties began to jostle 

internally for more power. Several factors have 

complicated this delicate balance. The first is Hong’s 

increasing reticence. As he becomes more and more 

absorbed in the subtleties of doctrine, as well as taking 

pleasure in his newfound luxury, Hong is increasingly 

disinterested in military, civil, and political affairs. The 

second complication in this power struggle is the very 

nature of power in a theocracy: authority flows from 

proximity to God, and when several of Hong’s generals 

(Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui in particular) claim to 

channel the voices of the Trinity, the rules of reality and 

truth are subject entirely to ambition. Lastly, there is an 

increasing tendency amongst members of the Hong clan 

to exert their heavenly bloodline and familial influence on 

Hong and his generals, claiming to trump even trusted 

advisors. Understandably, these competing powers add a 

layer of complication to the already tenuous development 

of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom into a world power. 

INTERACTIONS WITH FOREIGNERS 

It was inevitable that, in provoking the government 

of one of the largest countries and highest-prized markets 

in the world, the rebels would come into contact with 

the numerous Western powers with serious economic 

and political interest in the future of China. Among 

the various Western powers 

exerting spheres of influence 

in China, Britain is by far the 

most prevalent and therefore 

the most heavily invested in 

the outcome of the Taiping 

Rebellion. Having recently 

waged successful wars against 

the Qing government, the 

Crown is unlikely to let its 

efforts go to waste. At this 

point, British interaction 

has been limited to two factfinding 

missions dispatched 

to Nanjing. The French 

and Americans have each 

dispatched one similar 

envoy. None of the Western 

representatives have been 

allowed within the walls of 

Nanjing, communicating 

entirely by letter in lists of 

questions and answers. The Taiping have communicated 

their eagerness to explore opportunities to exchange goods 

and ideas, but the rebels’ conviction of their monopoly on 

God’s favor has exasperated the Western representatives 

thus far. Interactions with foreigners are precarious, and 

a diplomatic misstep could have disastrous consequences 

for future relations with the Westerners. 

The Heavenly Emperor Hong Xiuquan, dressed in his 

imperial finery. 

CURRENT SITUATION 

The Northern Campaign and Current Challenges 

With a prosperous capital city secured, a massive 

armada at their command, vast stores of treasure and 

supplies, and ever-increasing manpower, where would 

the Taiping next turn to? Their ambition never flagging, 

Hong and his generals set their sights on the very heart of 

the “demons”: the Qing capital, Peking. Currently, a force 

of over 70,000 Taiping troops is marching northward. 63 

The fate of the campaign still hangs in the balance; 

despite the rebels’ recent military successes and all of the 


fighting prowess they have acquired, they are entering 

unknown territory, drawing ever closer to the core of the 

Qing empire, and now have no speedy Yangtze river to 

accelerate their trek. 

On other fronts, the rapid expansion and hit-and-run 

tactics used by the Taiping have resulted in a large swath 

of territory whose “possession” by the rebels is tenuous at 

best. As such, the rebel forces are split between northward 

pursuit of new territory and the bitter struggle to maintain 

and even regain regions that have been conquered once 

already. Many Chinese have reason to be unhappy with 

Taiping rule: scholars and magistrates whose Confucian 

education has come 

under question; 

families unwilling to 

send sons to become 

soldiers; ardent 

Taoists, Buddhists, 

and Catholics; 

merchants no 

longer allowed to 

set up shop in the 

Heavenly Capital; 

and above all, 

wealthy landowners. 

The landed gentry 

has had ample time 

to collect all of these 

dissatisfied groups and more into fierce militia, and when 

the Taiping forces return to quell dissent, they will no 

longer have the advantage of surprise. 


A Chinese pirate ship like the ones used by Big Head Yang. 

Domestic Opponents and Threats 

In order to better understand the aforementioned 

crises that currently face the Taiping rebels, let us explore 

the key actors and relevant enemies in this vast game of 

war and revolution. 

LANDED GENTRY AND THE QING: 

As previously discussed, the landed gentry and the 

provincial governments of China are often inextricably 

tied by family relations, financial dealings, and mutual 

interests: the rich buy their way into public office, and 

once there, act to protect their own. Even those not 

officially in power – clan leaders who have passed even 

the lowest of civil service exams - often take it upon 

themselves to be the caretakers of the public order, as 

seen in the case of Feng’s trial. In their eyes, the God- 

Worshippers represent a threat as real as the Heaven-and- 


Earth Society (see “Secret Societies” below), bandits, or 

pirates. The Qing Army, working with gentry-raised local 

militias, would obviously form the largest opposition 

to the Taiping cause later on; at this point, however, it 

had not provoked open conflict with the amassing rebel 

camps. 

SECRET SOCIETIES 

An amorphous brotherhood whose members 

and purposes spanned from benign to nefarious, the 

Heaven-and-Earth Society (or “Triads”) is a loose 

cannon in the eyes of both the Taiping rebels and the 

Qing. Originally conceived as a system of mutual aid 

(whether loans or bodily protection), 

the Heaven-and-Earth Society has 

developed into an exclusive network 

of bandits, merchants, and thugs from 

whom the only protection has been 

admittance into their ranks. Their 

means of funding have swelled to 

include highway robbery, smuggling, 

unofficial “toll stations”, and gambling 

dens. The Qing are hard-pressed to 

combat this growing threat because 

of its ambiguity: there is no specific 

demographic that ties together the 

brotherhood besides personal interest. 

While the Triads’ self-proclaimed goal 

is the eventual overthrow of the Qing and the restoration 

of the preceding dynasty, the Ming, Hong has refused 

to associate his crusade with this brotherhood on the 

grounds that the end purpose of the Taiping Rebellion 

is not to restore the Ming but to establish a Heavenly 

Kingdom, the likes of which have not been seen since 

Eden. However, their considerable membership, anti- 

Qing stance, and proven fighting ability could make the 

Triads powerful, if risky, allies. 

BANDITS AND PIRATES 

Often found among the ranks of such brotherhoods 

are the many Chinese plunderers of both land and 

sea. Bandits, often hiding in the very same mountain 

safeholds as the Taiping, have for centuries reaped the 

bounty of wealthy landowners in the valleys of China and 

siphoned the riches of bustling trade routes. However, in 

recent years, this scourge has been rapidly multiplied 

by the waves of pirates and smugglers driven from the 

coast by the British fleets. The elaborate confederation of 

pirates that have held sway over the South China Sea for 

half a century has been, within a few years, pushed out 

21


from the area under the British navy’s jurisdiction and 

into the smaller rivers and waterways of mainland China. 

The Qing’s inept river patrols can do little to quash them 

here, and the pirates’ legendary ferocity has inspired 

terror among all who dare to try. Ironically, the pirates 

are known to deal with European merchants directly in 

an illicit smuggling network: at the same time that the 

British navy patrols the Hong Kong waterways in an 

effort to protect British trade from the pirates, Chinese 

pirates disguised as merchants often dock, refuel, and 

collect cargo to be distributed on the mainland. 64 Like 

the Triads, the pirate and bandit forces present both a 

problem and a solution to the Taiping: their vast numbers 

and mastery of the wilderness and waterways make them 

far more preferable as allies than enemies, but their 

mercenary nature calls into question the trustworthiness 

of any such alliances. 

Concurrent and Emergent Global Factors 

The year is 1853: the Third Year of the Taiping 

Heavenly Kingdom. Across the globe, several events of 

similar magnitude are taking place with indirect but 

definite effects on the future of the Taiping Rebellion. 

THE NIAN REBELLION 

Beginning in 1851, another revolution has broken 

out across Northern China, helping to deflect some of 

the Qing’s attention from the Taiping rebels. 65 The main 

motivations of this rebellion, the Nian Rebellion, revolve 

around the Qing government’s unwillingness to repair 

and maintain anti-flooding infrastructure, coupled 

with a particularly disastrous series of natural disasters, 

years of economic hardship, and even sexual frustration 

among men due to mass female infanticide (as a result 

of the aforementioned economic hardship). Although 

some of the same provocations have contributed to mass 

support for both the Nian and the Taiping, the Nian 

lacks the Taiping’s political and religious agendas while 

having the added advantage of being centralized in some 

of the most prosperous regions of China. As of yet, the 

Nian rebels have shown little interest in supporting the 

Taiping efforts, but cooperation between the northern 

and southern rebels could prove to be a fatal blow to the 

Qing. 

THE OPENING OF JAPAN 

Geographically closest to the upheavals in China 

is the increasing threat of European aggression against 

the Japanese. Unwilling to permit the sort of Western 

foothold that has developed in China, in a display of 

power Japan has refused all Western trade attempts 

(except for the Dutch) and even declared a Seclusion 

Order. The American government, working through 

its navy, has alternated between attempts at negotiation 

and threats of force for several decades, but it is losing 

patience and becoming inclined towards a forceful 

“opening” of Japan. 66 Such a precedent, if set, could 

have a drastic influence on future Euro-Sino relations 

by cementing the success of the trespasses already begun 

with the Opium Wars. 

THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1848 AND THE 

COMMUNIST MANIFESTO 

All around the world and for a variety of reasons, a 

series of revolutions broke out in the year 1848: Italy, 

France, Ireland, the German States, Denmark, Austria, 

Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Latin America, and even 

such distant states as Sri Lanka all underwent significant 

political upheaval. 67 Among the European revolutions, 

the common factor was growing liberalism and 

discontent with absolutist monarchies. Along with the 

increasing sway of the popular press, the publication of 

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel’s incendiary Communist 

Manifesto fanned the insurrectionary flames. Marx and 

Engel decried the injustices of the current social hierarchy 

as exploitative of the working class. Despite the huge 

distance--both geographic and cultural--between these 

authors and the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, many 

of their policies and motivations were rather similar. 

While all of the revolutions of 1848 ultimately failed, 

the ideologies and reforms proposed in The Communist 

Manifesto did not die with these initial revolutionaries. 

GROWING UNREST IN INDIA 

On the British-controlled Indian subcontinent, 

another type of revolution is brewing. Infuriated by 

Britain’s total disregard for Hindu tradition and the 

growing influence of the East India Company in both 

politics and society, the Indian people are a growing 

force against British rule, especially the 200,000 sepoys 

(Indian soldiers) currently employed by the British. 68 At 

this point in 1853, the East India Company has all but 

assumed the mantle of governing India, but it certainly 

does not have India’s loyalty. Any forecasting of Britain’s 

future should include the imminent mutiny of this 

valuable colony. 


AMERICA DIVIDED 

Although it managed to survive the revolutions of 

1848 unscathed, the United States of America may also 

be headed down the path towards civil war. Conflict 

between the slave-holding, agrarian South and the more 

industrial North intensified over a series of disputes 

regarding the induction of new states as either slaveholding 

or free (thereby influencing the economic and 

political leanings of its inhabitants). Despite the calming 

effects of the Compromise of 1850 (an agreed-upon 

method for the designation of new states with regard to 

slavery), within months, Southern states began to discuss 

secession from the United States. 69 As this antagonism 

deepens, either war or secession seems inevitable in the 

near future. 

Foreign Stances and Interests in the Rebellion 

TRADE INTERESTS 

Although the foreign powers in China, namely 

Britain, America, and France, have done little to directly 

aid or inhibit the Taiping rebellion as of yet, it would be 

foolish to believe that these powers will not hold a great 

deal of influence in the future of the rebellion. Thanks 

to their success in both Opium Wars and the benefits 

awarded by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the British 

have secured a hefty sphere of influence, and both the 

The first of several “unequal” treaties, the Treaty of Nanking ended the Opium War with a series of 

concessions to the British. 



Americans and French have built up considerable trade 

with the Chinese as well. As such, Westerners may be 

understandably wary of both the Taiping’s opium 

prohibitions (opium is one of the most profitable – and 

addictive – Western imports) and the general abolition of 

trade within the Heavenly Capital of Nanjing. However, 

the limited trade (mainly smuggling) that has occurred 

between the Taiping and Westerners thus far has 

definitely shown optimistic possibilities for future trade 

negotiations, unlike the Qing’s traditional xenophobic 

reluctance towards relations with the West. 

INDIFFERENCE AND NEUTRALITY 

The current relationship between the Taiping 

and Western powers is, in truth, a lack of any official 

relationship at all. Despite the proclamation of the 

Heavenly Kingdom in 1851, the Taiping have not yet 

remained in one place long enough to enact the majority 

of the policies and reforms proposed by Taiping leaders 

over the years, or even to solidify control over those 

territories already conquered. Western powers are unlikely 

to acknowledge the legitimacy of any such nomadic 

“kingdom,” but with the taking of Nanjing and the 

physical establishment of the Heavenly Kingdom, actual 

discussion between Western representatives and Taiping 

leaders may begin to take place. In order to form normal 

relations with foreign governments, it is imperative that 

the Taiping establish themselves as 

a legitimate, stable state that could 

realistically serve as a replacement 

for the current Qing bureaucracy. 

Only then will foreign powers 

regard the rebels as anything 

more than armed peasants. As of 

late, it would appear that Britain, 

France, America and other such 

powers are awaiting clear signs of 

whether the rebels’ political aims 

align with the foreigners’ vision of 

a China willing to submit to their 

imperialism. Until such signs are 

seen, the foreigners seem content 

to let the rebels further cripple 

the already submissive Qing. 

MERCENARIES AND 

PARTICIPATION 

While the Western powers 

have not officially participated in 

the Taiping rebellion, individual 

23


Westerners certainly have in a variety of capacities. In 

the midst of rebel ranks, it is not uncommon to find 

mercenaries – both Chinese and foreign – with no greater 

tie to the Taiping cause than their next paycheck. 70 

These soldiers possess the advantage of prior fighting 

experience (and in the case of foreign mercenaries, 

their nontraditional methods and weapons), but also 

the drawback of indifference towards the Taiping’s 

ultimate political, social, and religious goals – many of 

these men may want no part in the Heavenly Kingdom 

they are fighting to achieve. Other Westerners take a 

less direct – but still vital – role in the war: that of the 

supplier. Recognizing early on the 

superiority of Western weapons, 

the Taiping began purchasing mass 

quantities of Western arms and the 

equipment to begin their own arms 

production. These arms often made 

their way along waterways under 

the guise of civilian shipments 

(rifles were labeled as “umbrellas”, 

gunpowder casks marked “salted 

butter”). 71 Shipments of food and 

civilian goods were also smuggled 

into Taiping territory by a variety 

of Chinese and Western smugglers, 

often right under the nose of both 

British and Qing authorities (see 

“Bandits and Pirates”). 

BLOC POSITIONS 

While the Taiping rebels have displayed remarkable 

cohesion considering the increasing size and diversity of 

their ranks, it is inevitable that several competing factions 

might coalesce among the troops. This is especially true 

among those contending for positions of power. 

FAMILY: HONG RENGAN, HONG XUAN JIAO, 

HONG TIANGUIFU 

Calling upon the strong bonds of family and clan, the 

members of Hong’s extended family collectively assert 

their influence upon both Hong and, through their own 

political posts, upon the direction of the rebellion as a 

whole. By promoting nepotism (favoritism within the 

family) and suspicion of power-hungry motives among 

all non-relatives, whispers in the ear of the Heavenly 

Emperor have begun to earn the Hongs an increasing 

presence among the Taiping elite. 

THE FOUR KINGS: YANG XIUQING, XIAO 

The Imperial Seal of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. 

CHAOGUI, WEI CHANGHUI, FENG YUNSHAN 

As the four most influential leaders of the Taiping 

Rebellion under Hong Xiuquan, this group has obviously 

already secured the Heavenly Emperor’s favor and trust. 

However, even within these four, a constant competition 

is waged for supremacy over the other three: each new 

honorary title awarded provokes a round of jealous 

suspicion, a process only complicated by individual 

claims of divine preference. 

UP-AND-COMING GENERALS: SHI DAKAI, LUO 

DAGANG, LI XIUCHENG, TANG ZENGZHAI, QIN 

RIGANG, CHEN YUCHENG, TAN SHUNTIAN 

In addition to the 

quartet of kings occupying 

the highest echelons of 

power, the Council is filled 

with numerous ambitious, 

battle-tested officers 

who have already risen 

meteorically from lowly 

peasants to trusted advisors 

to the Heavenly Emperor. If 

they are to have their way, 

their trajectories will include 

even higher ambitions 

of greatness, ambitions 

that are currently blocked 

by the hegemony of the 

aforementioned four. 

RELIGIOUS LEADERS: 

YANG XIUQING, FENG YUNSHAN, XIAO 

CHAOGUI 

However, the battlefield is not the only ground on 

which this war is being fought: the Taiping is a spiritual 

rebellion as much as a political one. As such, the possession 

of religious authority has proven an even quicker path 

to power than military competency, especially given the 

numerous generals who have claimed to be personally 

the voices of the Trinity – and who can argue with the 

voice of God? This conveniently incontrovertible source 

of power and awe has inextricably intertwined Taiping 

politics with religion in a way that could potentially 

strangle the entire Council. 

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS 

In light of the various obstacles that currently face the 

Taiping rebels, it seems prudent to consider all possible 

solutions that present themselves to the Council. 


The taking of Nanjing has marked an important 

pivot point in the Taiping military advance. For the 

first time, the rebels have secured a stronghold large and 

sturdy enough to resist considerable attacks from Qing 

forces. It is up to the Council to decide whether or not 

the center of gravity of the rebellion should be shifted 

from an ever-advancing, never pausing onslaught to a 

single centralized point, radiating outward from behind 

the walls of Nanjing. Each approach offers its own merits 

and shortcomings, so this decision shall be left to the 

brilliant military strategists of this Council. 

In terms of the Western powers, the Taiping rebels 

could potentially seek an alliance, exploiting the 

Westerners’ already strained relations with the Qing 

dynasty. In doing so, however, it must be remembered 

that the Europeans have just recently sunk considerable 

resources into securing the Qing’s submission, and the 

disorder presented by the Taiping uprising could be seen 

as a threat. If an alliance is not sought, the rebels could 

also seek to succeed where the Qing had failed, namely 

expelling the Westerners from the country altogether. 

Lastly, concerning the religious pursuits of the 

rebellion, the increasing friction between spiritual 

figureheads within the rebellion leadership coupled with 

controversy between Taiping and European accounts 

of Christianity place the fate of Taiping religion at a 

crossroads. Whose account is the correct one, and who 

has the authority to decide? Possible solutions could 

include widespread religious reform, assumption of 

total religious hegemony by one figure, or an attempt at 

resolution through compromise. 

Please keep in mind that this is a short list of only 

several possible solutions to these complicated and 

multifaceted issues. Creativity and well-researched 

innovation is welcome and highly encouraged among 

the council members: by all means do not feel limited to 

these suggestions. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER 

RESEARCH 

Hundreds, if not thousands, of scholarly works have 

been authored on the subject of the Taiping Rebellion. In 

the course of my own research for this study guide, several 

of these resources have proved more informative than 

others. Jonathan Spence’s God’s Chinese Son: The Taiping 

Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan is widely regarded 

as the authoritative source on the topic; its excellent 

readability and astute analyses of the rebellion’s key actors 



make it an outstanding initial source of insight. Another 

work, Ssu-yü Teng’s The Taiping Rebellion and the Western 

Powers: A Comprehensive Survey also offers fascinating 

details about the rebellion’s global context. Lastly, Franz 

Michael’s The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents 

includes many useful and informative primary sources to 

provide a first-hand look at these exciting events as they 

unfolded. 

POSITION PAPER GUIDELINES 

Position papers provide a first opportunity to take a 

stance on the exciting issues we will be debating, and in 

doing so demonstrate the fruits of your research. As the 

name suggests, these papers will balance an understanding 

of the current situation of the Taiping Rebellion with 

insight into how your character might have responded in 

such a context. A well-researched position should touch 

upon each of the relevant issues we will be discussing, so 

please include the following in your response: 

• Your character’s recommendations for the 

most advantageous next steps in the rebellion: 

advancing upon the enemy, consolidating control 

over already-taken territory, etc. 

• The course that should be taken in future 

interaction with Western powers. 

• Your character’s opinions on reforms within the 

Heavenly Kingdom: which reforms have been 

most useful, which have proved ineffective, and 

which should next be undertaken. 

Please note that this is not a character biography (these 

will be provided for you), although some research into 

your character’s background will of course be invaluable 

to understanding their perspective. I am aware that, due 

to the historical documents available to us now, some 

characters will be better documented than others. If you 

are having trouble determining your character’s stance 

due to a lack of information, I may be able to point you 

towards additional resources. A committee of delegates 

comfortable in arguing their respective positions makes 

for the most rewarding and realistic debate experience, so 

please give this position paper some thought. 

Each delegate will be expected to contribute a 

position paper – one page single-spaced, written in essay 

format (i.e. not bullet points). Further instructions on 

how to submit position papers will be released closer to 

conference. Rest assured that this is not a purposeless 

assignment; my staff and I look forward to reading 

your papers, from which we will craft the committee 

accordingly. 

25


CLOSING REMARKS 

Thank you for reading this study guide. It should 

serve you well as the first step in your preparation for our 

upcoming committee. However, as with any historical 

reference, it is very difficult to include a full picture 

of such a dynamic event in one volume, so I therefore 

highly encourage you to continue your research among 

any of the thousands of resources written on the subject 

of the Taiping Rebellion. I have included a list of sources 

I found helpful in writing this study guide; use these to 

your best advantage, but please do keep in mind the time 

frame of our committee. Any information you unearth 

from after the start of our committee may be thought 

of as one of many possible futures, and I assure you that 

your Crisis Director, Min Hwang, will be creative in her 

interpretation of possible turns of events. The year is 

currently 1853, and the Taiping forces have only recently 

taken Nanjing and are currently converting the city into 

their Heavenly Capital. 

The more research you do, the stronger your 

position as a delegate will be, and the more smoothly 

our committee will flow. However, in addition to the 

many textual resources available to you, please think of 

me as another useful resource, and feel free to direct any 

questions about the Taiping, our committee, or HMUN 

in general to me. I’d love to hear from you both before 

and after committee. With these words, I set you on your 

way to becoming fierce generals and visionary leaders, 

and eagerly wait for January when all of your hard work 

will come alive. 

Notes 

1 Spence, God’s Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan, 148 

2 Teng, The Taiping Rebellion and the Western Powers: A Comprehensive Survey, 31 


4 Ibid., 35 


6 Ibid., 27 

7 Ibid., 28 



10 Ibid., 20 

11 Ibid., 20 

12 Ibid., 27 


14 Ibid., 4 


16 Ibid., 23 

17 Ibid., 23 

18 Ibid., 25 





23 Michael and Chang, The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, 34 


25 Ibid., 80 

26 Ibid., 80 

27 Ibid., 99 

28 Ibid., 100 

29 Ibid., 114 

30 Ibid., 126 

31 Ibid., 127 

32 Ibid., 126 

33 Ibid., 83 

34 Ibid., 130 

35 Ibid., 130 

36 Ibid., 132 

37 Ibid., 134 

38 Ibid., 136 

39 Cheng, Chinese Sources for the Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864, 21 


41 Ibid., 145 

42 Ibid., 153 

43 Ibid., 154 

44 Ibid., 159 

45 Cheng, Chinese Sources for the Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864, 30 


47 Ibid., 163 

48 Ibid., 164 

49 Ibid., 168 

50 Ibid., 169 

51 Michael and Chang, The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, 183-184 


53 Ibid., 98 

54 Ibid., 232 

55 Ibid., 233 

56 Ibid., 181 

57 Ibid., 176 

58 Ibid., 114 

59 Ibid., 141 



62 Ibid., 75 

63 Ibid., 210 

64 Ibid., 210 

65 Perry, Chinese Perspectives on the Nien rebellion, vii 

66 Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “Japan” 



67 Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “Revolutions of 1848” 

68 Crawfurd, Buckland, and Clift, Journal of an Embassy from the Governor General of India to 

the Court of Ava With an Appendix, Containing a Description of Fossil Remains, 53 

69 Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “American Civil War” 


71 Ibid., 312 


27


Bibliography 

“American Civil War.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 

06 Jul. 2011. . 

Cheng, J. Chester. Chinese Sources for the Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press;, 

1963. Print. 

Crawfurd, John, William Buckland, and Clift. Journal of an Embassy from the Governor General of India to the Court of 

Ava With an Appendix, Containing a Description of Fossil Remains. 2d ed. London: Colburn, 1834. Print. 

“Japan.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 06 Jul. 2011. 

. 

Michael, Franz H., and Chung Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents. Seattle: University of Washington 

Press, 1971. Print. 

Perry, Elizabeth J.. Chinese Perspectives on the Nien rebellion. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1981. Print. 

“Revolutions of 1848.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 

06 Jul. 2011. . 

Spence, Jonathan D.. God’s Chinese Son: the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. New York: W.W. Norton, 

1996. Print. 

Teng, Ssu. The Taiping Rebellion and the Western powers: A Comprehensive Survey. Oxford: Clarendon press, 1971. Print. 


GUIDE TO DELEGATE PREPARATION 

AND RULES 

The Specialized Agencies at Harvard Model United 

Nations 2012 comprise the Security Council, the African 

Court On Human and People’s Rights, and the Continual 

Crisis simulations. The Security Council simulation 

follows the same rules of procedure that apply to the 

General Assembly and Economic and Social Council, 

with an exception that gives the five permanent members 

(China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, 

and the Russian Federation) a veto in substantive voting. 

The African Court will follow special rules of procedure, 

which will be detailed by the director. Parliamentary 

procedure will be limited in Continual Crisis committees. 

By nature of their small size, debate in the Specialized 

Agencies will be much more informal than in other organs. 

A greater emphasis will be placed on close negotiations 

between delegates to work out the details of resolutions 

and directives, in both moderated and unmoderated 

caucuses. Delegates will have ample opportunities to 

speak and participate in resolving complex issues. 

Continual Crisis Committees 

Spanning a diverse range of topics, regions, and time 

periods, the Continual Crisis committees include: the 

Ad-Hoc Committee on the Aftermath of the Japanese 

Earthquake, General People’s Committee of Libya 

2011, Council of Ministers of Colombia 2010, Taiping 

Heavenly Kingdom 1853, Cabinet of Pompey the Great, 

and a Joint Crisis set in 1980 between the Supreme 

Defense Council of Iran and the Iraqi Revolutionary 

Command Council. 

Instead of debating two distinct topic areas laid out 

in advance in the study guide, these committees will 

focus on a particular political, social, or military crisis. 

Throughout committee, delegates will face new and 

changing challenges and must make real-time decisions. 

In addition to the dais staff, each continual crisis 

committee has a crisis staff, including a Crisis Director, 

who will coordinate events in real time to respond to 

delegate actions. Crisis staff may interrupt debate at 

any point to break new information. In addition to 

participating in debate in the committee room, delegates 

are encouraged to conduct private affairs and take creative 

actions through interactions with crisis staff. 

In almost all continual crisis committees, delegates 

represent a particular individual instead of a nation, and 

will step into the shoes of historical figures, military 

Guide to Delegate Preparation and Rules 

leaders, and cabinet members. In preparing to represent 

an individual, it is crucial to research his or her perspective 

on the conflict or issue. Crisis staff will provide delegates 

with a preliminary biography outlining each character’s 

role and powers in the committee, but delegates will 

greatly benefit from researching as many personal details 

as they can. A high level of preparation will not only 

allow delegates to participate fully in the debate and stay 

true to their character, but also add personality and flair 

to the experience. Some roles may be fictional or only 

loosely based on a real figure; delegates assigned to these 

roles have the unique opportunity to develop their own 

personality and views within the guidelines provided by 

their biography. It is also useful to keep in mind that the 

committee director will also portray a character (as the 

Prime Minister, President, or other head of state). 

For committees set in a different time period, especially 

the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom 1853, the Cabinet of 

Pompey the Great, and the Iran-Iraq Joint Cabinet Crisis, 

delegates will not be allowed to use or reference any 

events that occurred after the date on which committee 

is set. The time period of the committee will be given 

in the study guide and on the first day of committee. 

Anachronistic references damage the historical realism 

of the simulation and detract from the enjoyment and 

experience of all delegates. At the same time, delegates 

should not feel bounded by history--delegates have free 

reign over the course of history, and the possibilities are 

virtually endless. 

Due to the fast pace of debate, the use of 

parliamentary procedure in Continual Crisis committees 

is limited. The flow of the committee will depend on the 

preferences of the dais. Details about procedure used in 

specific committees will be provided in the study guide 

or at the start of the first committee session. In general, 

instead of a speakers’ list, discussion in Continual Crisis 

committees takes place through moderated caucuses in 

which the chair calls upon delegates to speak. Delegates 

may motion for unmoderated caucuses to suspend 

formal debate and discuss freely or work on directives 

and communiques. 

Working Documents 

Unlike traditional committees, continual crisis 

committees do not pass resolutions. Depending on the 

committee, they can issue directives, communiques, and 

press releases. Directives take specific actions, and must 

be sent by an individual, a group of individuals, or the 


1

Guide to Delegate Preparation and Rules 

committee as a whole. An individual may only send a 

directive if it is within his or her portfolio powers, as 

detailed in the character biography released by the crisis 

staff. If the directive is not issued by the whole committee, 

it can be sent privately, and its contents will not be 

revealed to the committee. At the director’s discretion, 

a minimum number of signatories may be necessary for 

the directive to be introduced. Directives will be voted 

on as they are introduced, and will be passed by simple 

majority vote unless the director stipulates otherwise. 

Communiques allow delegates to communicate with 

foreign governments (including the other committee in 

a joint crisis), and individuals outside the committee. 

Press releases, issued to specific newspapers, can reveal 

information to the public or state the committee’s 

position on a particular event. Throughout the committee, 

notes can be used to communicate between delegates, to 

ask the dais a question, or to send a private directive or 

communiqué. 

DIRECTIVE 

Sample Working Documents 

Deploy naval forces under the US Commander 

South Atlantic to blockade Cuba. Effect a 

quarantine of vessels headed to Cuba carrying 

offensive military equipment. 

PRESS RELEASE 

To: New York Times 

From: US National Security Council 

We have today been informed by Chairman 

Khrushchev that all of the IL-28 bombers now 

in Cuba will be withdrawn in 30 days. He also 

agreed that these planes can be observed and 

counted as they leave. Inasmuch as this goes a 

long way towards reducing the danger which 

faced this hemisphere four weeks ago, we have 

this afternoon decided to lift our naval quarantine. 

-United States National Security Council 

COMMUNIQUÉ 

To: Politburo of the Soviet Union 

From: US National Security Council 

We demand an immediate dismantling of missile 

bases already under construction or completed in 

Cuba. Additionally, we demand that all offensive 

weapons be removed from Cuba. Any nuclear 

missile launched from Cuba against any nation 

in the Western Hemisphere will be regarded as 

an attack by the Soviet Union on the United 

States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon 

the Soviet Union.

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, 1853 - Harvard Model United Nations

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?